Like most chefs, Brian Bowden keeps his day full by staying busy in the kitchen. He checks the walk-in coolers for inventory and orders what is lacking. He preps his mise en place in anticipation of a busy night of service. He speaks with the front of the house staff about the menu's specials, highlighting any local stories behind each dish's ingredients.

Some of those local ingredients come from the farms and fields close to Mingle on the Avenue, the new Saratoga Springs restaurant where he acts as founding chef. Some local items, like the roasted chanterelle mushrooms that are gently folded into a lush, creamy risotto, are the product of Bowden's journeys into the woods to hunt for wild edibles.

Wild game and foraged items are becoming more popular on both home and restaurant menus. Food and Wine magazine listed wild edibles as a trend to watch last year, while USA Today predicts foraging will find its stride in 2014. While only a few chefs locally gather their own foraged products, many source these products from specialty purveyors.

"We have noticed forage options spread to a wider audience, as more and more chefs and consumers are demanding local, quality ingredients," says Danielle Gagner, director of sales operations at Adventure in Food Trading, located in Menands. She notes several reasons for the boost in popularity in restaurants, saying that, "consumer demand for what they consider local, quality and overall safe product feeds into this, and in turn chefs are responding to that. I also find that in many cases chefs have been interested in fueling that part of their menu for years. They have just been waiting for the movement to gather momentum."

Bowden finds that chefs and home cooks alike find personal gratification in foraging for food, just as they would growing vegetables in a garden. Edibles commonly found in the Capital Region include a variety of mushrooms (chanterelles, morels, king bolet and hen of the woods), wild greens, ramps, leeks, fiddleheads, nettles, garlic, chives and wild berries.

The benefits of hunting and foraging are extensive, ranging from economic to health-related.

"Wild plants and animals live in a holistic, biodynamic ecosystem that supplies them with healthy, sustainable nutrients," says Joe Messina, owner of Amorici Vineyard in Valley Falls, , which hosts game hunts and foraging trips. He notes that wild animals especially are higher in vitamins and nutrients than farm-raised counterparts, as they eat what is natural to them to keep them healthy, not what they are being forced to eat. "The only time wild animals become ill is when overpopulation (forces it)," says Messina. He also notes that foraging for plants is a free or low-cost way to supplement diets.

In 2013, Gov. Andrew Cuomo issued a series of initiatives for New York state that would promote sporting activities and generate revenue. New rules to streamline the hunting and fishing licensing system would make earning a license easier and more affordable while supporting tourism and increasing hunting opportunities.

"Give a person a fish and he or she eats for a day. Teach a person to fish and he eats for a lifetime," Messina says. "The satisfaction of procuring one's own food not only benefits nutritionally, but mentally as well," he says, noting that playing an active role in one's ecosystem brings peace, clarity and a sense of place.

The fields and woodlands surrounding Messina's vineyard are well-suited to a hunting and gathering lifestyle. Messina practices quality deer management on his property and frequently invites interested parties to his property to learn the basics of hunting and gathering, especially the safety associated with it.

"Hunting and trapping requires legal training courses. For cleaning and cooking, find someone experienced to hunt with and start there," says Messina. On a recent pheasant hunt on his property, Messina taught new and experienced hunters how to shoot, butcher and cook the birds in a way that utilizes all parts of the animal.

"These birds sacrificed themselves for our survival," says Messina, and Gagner agrees, saying, "acknowledge that in taking a life to sustain yourself, you should be giving something back. Increasing this symbiotic relationship can only mean good things."

The community that surrounds hunting perpetuates this outlook on the activity. "Though it is a solitary thing, it really does help to have a mentor," says Richard Kukle, a New York City-based private chef who attended the pheasant hunt that day. He finds that learning from another's experience is the best way to handle the animal with care and best use the meat, limiting waste. Working with a mentor or trusted guide is also an important part of foraging, as choosing the wrong mushroom, for example, could lead to sickness or even death. Messina recommends Peterson's "A Field Guide to Edible Wild Plants," and cross-referencing everything that is harvested.

Bowden says once a forager finds a patch of edibles, it is crucial to "only take a little" to promote sustainability. Removing all of the bounty would limit what others might find and reduce future harvests.

Many don't understand the value of what they'll find in the woods. When harvested correctly, the flavor of wild game is of the highest quality not "gamey."

The intrusion of homes and buildings into animals' natural habitats builds the conception that these animals are a nuisance, not a quality food source. Many people probably have wild edibles growing in their yards (dandelion greens, for instance) but view them as nothing more than weeds. Knowledge is critical, and the more people become acquainted with hunting and foraging, the more popular this way of life becomes.

"Everything is farm-to-table, back-to-nature these days," says Kukle, "and there is no reason why (wild edibles) shouldn't be included."